Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik has opined that Sanju Samson has earned the right to be part of India’s playing XI for the match against Namibia if Abhishek Sharma is ruled out with stomach illness.
Samson had managed only 46 runs in five matches against New Zealand at an average of 9.20 and thus was dropped from the opening clash against the USA. The right-hander could get another opportunity against Namibia and he would look to grab it with both hands.
Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz, “100% Sanju Samson will come in. He deserves that opening spot. He has earned the right to be part of this team, and he will definitely get an opportunity in case Abhishek Sharma is not fit. I really wish he does well because he is a man who has done so well in 2024 that he deserves a good opportunity.”
“Even though the last few games haven’t gone his way, he is a superstar. If he does well, that will give a happy headache, but also give a lot of happiness to Sanju Samson and all his fans who follow him. And he has got plenty of goodwill and support in the country.”
On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah is expected to return to the team’s playing XI after missing the previous game due to illness. Karthik said a good spell would do Bumrah a world of good as he had conceded his runs at 9.47 against New Zealand.
“If you can get one game before the big Pakistan game, it always helps. It’s important to have bowling rhythm and play a certain amount for the body to understand and get the running speed, which will be small tick boxes in his case. If he can have a good four-over spell, it’ll do him a world of good,” said Karthik (via the aforementioned source).
Karthik reckons wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav can also make the cut into the final XI as the Delhi pitch is expected to assist the spinners.
“Namibia might also come up against Kuldeep because Delhi so far has had the most amount of turn. Sometimes on pitches that aid a lot of turn, Gautam Gambhir is likely to have just one pacer. So it could be just Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav could make the 11 as well.”
India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Thursday.
